Oh this is nutty. Frank Sinatra must be shaking in his boots! The Netflix blurb for an animated film on American history describes one segment like this:

… “This Land Is Your Land,” based on the hit song by the legendary crooner Woody Guthrie …

Really? I’m a fan, and I promise you the man had many fine qualities. But it’s a serious stretch to call Guthrie a “crooner” — unless you’re comparing him to Tom Waitts, Leonard Cohen or Dr. John. Get a grip, people! And “hit song” is pretty misleading as well; ‘This Land’ has become a folkie standard, but a “hit”? Who writes this stuff? I’m also given to understand there’s a fair amount of documentation attesting to Woody’s reality, certainly way more than we have for Jesus. Hope the movie’s better, but it won’t go on my queue any time soon. Then again, maybe I’ve just missed something, so judge for yourself with the following examples of Woody’s, er, crooning.

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About l. l. frederick

I'm pretty ordinary, so I find any number of things in the world interesting, among them: books, music, flowers, food, social justice, politics and (sometimes!) people. As for my writing, I've decided that I can be subtle and tasteful when our only problems are esthetic ones. Or when I'm dead, whichever comes first. In the meantime, read at your own risk.